Bishop Noll star Courtney Blakely waited until closer to her birthday to formalize her decision to commit to a college.

But the 5-foot-8 guard all but knew in March that Middle Tennessee State was the place for her.

“When they first called me a couple months back, they were always so nice and always made it to where I wanted to be there,” Blakely said. “They really wanted me. They called every day and said, ‘We want you to be our point guard.’ I was always interested in Middle Tennessee.”

Stetson also interested Blakely, whose 18th birthday was April 6, and she had another Division I offer from Indiana State. She briefly considered Northwest Florida State, the second-ranked junior college team in the country.

But nothing quite compared to Middle Tennessee.

Blakely connected with 16-year coach Rick Insell, as well as his son Matt, an assistant who previously coached Mississippi. Even though she was unable to visit Middle Tennessee due to the coronavirus pandemic, staff sent her videos of the campus, arena and dorms.

“I was so grateful,” Blakely said. “It was amazing. Middle Tennessee is home. I already knew it. I felt it.”

Middle Tennessee made the NCAA Tournament this season, continuing its history and tradition of competing at that level. The Blue Raiders won the Conference USA Tournament before losing to Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“That was crazy,” Blakely said. “He (Rick Insell) is a great coach. He likes to win. He likes to run. He likes the point guard to have the ball in her hands. It was a good fit.”

Blakely, who has known since she was a freshman that she wanted to study accounting, put together a remarkable career at Bishop Noll, including a spectacular senior season.

The Indiana All-Star averaged a state-best 31.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.4 steals. She posted a program-record 55 points against Andrean on Jan. 5, capping a stunning four-game stretch in which she also scored 49, 50 and 37.

She finished 16th in state history with 2,324 points. Among Region players, only West Side graduate Dana Evans, who ranks fifth with 2,832 points, and North Judson graduate Debbie Bolen, who ranks 12th with 2,421, scored more.

Blakely was an Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Senior All-State Supreme 15 selection and was named second-team all-state by Associated Press after her senior season.

“It’s been nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time,” Blakely said of the recruiting process. “Obviously things were really different with COVID.

“Things slowed down a lot because coaches weren’t able to come to the gyms and most tournaments got canceled. That was the nerve-wracking part. But you never knew who was watching. That was the exciting part. Playing to the best of my ability and having it pay off, it’s been fun.”